Family and friends provide vital support for kidney patients.
When someone you care about has kidney disease, you don’t always know how to help. One way is to learn more about the kidney patient’s transplant options.
Learn all you can about transplants.
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With your loved one, talk to healthcare providers to learn if they recommend that the patient remain on dialysis or get a deceased or living donor transplant.
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Read all you can. Transplant information is available at the library, on the internet, from dialysis and transplant centers and from kidney organizations.
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Talk to kidney recipients about their transplant experiences. A transplant center can refer you to these individuals.
Talk your loved one about why he or she might pursue transplant.
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Ask about the dialysis experience.
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Help your loved one think through whether they want to pursue a transplant.
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Support your loved one in their decision making process about transplant.
Help your loved one complete a transplant evaluation and get on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney.
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Help them call the transplant center to get the necessary medical forms and complete them.
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Go to the transplant center to provide support and ask questions.
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Since transplant evaluation can require multiple visits to the center, help complete all the medical testing so they can be listed for a deceased donor transplant.
Help look for a living donor.
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Talk to your loved one about their concerns about having a living donor transplant.
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Help them think about who might be a living donor and how to spread the word.
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Pass on education about living donation to interested family members, friends and community members. If someone offers to be evaluated as a living donor, give them the phone number or help them call the transplant center.
Consider being a living donor yourself.
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Learn all you can about being a living donor from the internet, the transplant center and kidney organizations.
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Talk to living donors about their experiences. A transplant center can refer you to these individuals.
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Make the decision about being a donor that is right for you. If you are interested, call the transplant center to schedule blood tests to see if you are a possible match.
For additional information or to begin a kidney transplant evaluation, call 855.925.0631.